AUTOMATIC RANKING OF TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN DEVELOPING NATIONS (A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA UNIVERSITIES)

University ranking has become increasingly important in recent years among the general public at large because it creates a public platform for competition between universities and also serve as a marketing tool to communicate their academic performance and build their international reputation. Ranking help prospective students that are seeking admission into tertiary institutions to choose a university of their choice with programmes that aligned with their aspiration.


There are many ranking systems used to rank universities at global level. Some of the parameters employed by these global ranking bodies such as Per Capita Performance, Academic Peer Review and Employer Review favour universities in developed nations than universities in developing nations, thereby giving unfavourable and poor ranking performance for universities in developing nations. Hence, the need to have a purpose-built web ranking systems that are easy to implement for universities in developing nations.


 The aim of this paper is to develop a purpose-built web ranking system for tertiary institutions in developing nations.


Nine existing ranking systems were considered in this study and aggregated to form a unified system. Twenty-two criteria were identified as a result of the aggregation but only seventeen criteria are used and percentage weights were also assigned objectively to each. Web crawling algorithm was employed to extract the value of each criterion that is available on university website while other criteria that are not available are manually input into the proposed ranking systems. Some of the criteria used are number of full professors in the university, number of publication, university popularity. System implementation was carried out in PHP and Python.


The best five universities from the proposed ranking system are University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Lagos, University of Benin and University of Ilorin.


The proposed ranking system will give a better and reliable ranking result for universities in developing nations than other existing ranking systems because it contained more robust parameters. Hence, it is recommended as a tool for ranking of tertiary institutions in developing nations.


To read more kindly click the link  below                                                                                             

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339936469_AUTOMATIC_RANKING_OF_TERTIARY_INSTITUTIONS_IN_DEVELOPING_NATIONS_A_CASE_STUDY_OF_NIGERIA_UNIVERSITIES

What Jobseeker should know about Ambition Box in the year 2019

About Ambition Box

Ambitionbox.com helps people with their job interview preparation by providing access to in-depth and authentic information about a company. We provide Interview Questions, Experiences, Tips, and Company Reviews from people who have successfully cracked interviews at various companies

Our product portfolio is as follows:

1. Interview Experiences - Simply type the name of a company in the search box to read relevant interview questions, experiences, and tips.


2. Company Pages - Access in-depth information about a company belonging to any sector. Read basic company information (such as the company's age, strength, headquarters, etc.), the company's global impact, products, core team, photos, mission, vision, etc.


3. Company Reviews - Read genuine company reviews and ratings published by real employees, regarding the organizational work culture, ambiance, attitude of colleagues, opportunity to develop skills, work days, timings, facilities, general likes and dislikes, and much more.


4. Take Home Salary Calculator - Use this accurate salary calculation tool to figure out your exact in-hand or take-home salary (for FY 2017-18). The accuracy of the results obtained is dependent on your CTC input.


5. Practice Tests - Prepare for various interview rounds by practicing these mock tests and sample questions. Categories available include Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability, Logical Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Puzzles, C Programming, C++ Programming, C# Programming, Java Programming, etc.

vision

Our vision is to build products that connect users with their true ambition and help them build happy careers.

mission

To help people discover and prepare for interviews of top companies in their hunt to find the perfect workplace.

Ambition Box Products & Services

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Interview Preparation

Our users can access Interview Experiences, Questions, Tips and other resources to prepare for an upcoming interview at world-class Indian and multi-national companies. These interview experiences have been posted by real people who have successfully cracked interviews in the near past.

Company Reviews

AmbitionBox allows its users to read company reviews and ratings published by actual employees, related to the organizational work culture, ambiance, attitude of colleagues, opportunity to develop skills, work days, timings, facilities, general likes and dislikes, and much more.

Company Pages

Our users can access authentic and in-depth information about companies that they desire to work for. The section covers a company's story, mission, vision, impact, products & services, office locations, office photos, amusing facts and lots of other critical information, which can help job seekers in their hunt to find the perfect best-fit workplace.

Take Home Salary Calculator

This is an accurate salary calculator which tells a user's exact in-hand or take-home salary (for FY 2017-18). The accuracy of a result obtained is dependent on the correctness of the CTC per annum, entered by the user. Components like Gross Salary, Gratuity, Taxable Income, Income Tax, PF Contribution, Professional Tax, etc. can be fetched from this tool.

Practice Tests

AmbitionBox helps users to prepare for entry level screening tests by providing detailed practice questions and answers. Multiple mock tests and sample questions belonging to categories such as - Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability, Logical Reasoning, Verbal & Non-verbal Reasoning, Puzzles, C Programming, C++ Programming, C# Programming and Java Programming - are available here.

Career Resources

AmbitionBox Resources is a platform where articles, infographics, videos, reports, and blogs on latest job industry trends, challenges, innovations, and the future roadmap are published regularly. Job seekers can go through these insightful resources to polish their interview skills.


Source Credit:   https://www.ambitionbox.com/overview/ambition-box-overview

Why is cybersecurity important?

Is The World Cup Legacy Worth It?

In order to host a World Cup, countries have to go through an arduous bidding process, competing against other nations for the prize of hosting the biggest sporting spectacle on Earth. However, more is promised than just a month long festival of football. When any major sporting event takes place, a lot is said about the legacy that it will leave behind once all the spectators have went home. This is especially true for the World Cup. The hosting nation often builds new stadiums, infrastructure and accommodation. In return for this, an economic stimulus is promised.


 A World Cup is meant to leave permanent benefits for the host nation, in terms of job creation, increased participation in football and public facilities. But does this happen? We’ve analysed some of the key outcomes of the previous four World Cups to find out.


During the 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, South Korea’s national side miraculously made it the the Semi Final’s, narrowly losing 1-0 to a 75th minute Michael Ballack strike. The event was hailed as a success for its seamlessly smooth operations and excellent football, but what effect did this have on both of the host countries? Tourism to Japan increased after the tournament. The Japanese public opinion of South Korea reached an all time high, helping to heal long standing issues between both countries, stemming from WW2. Although football is popular in Japan today, baseball remains the nations favourite pastime. The tournament reportedly cost a combined total of $7.5b to host, with an estimated economic impact of $11.86bn, making the tournament a financial success. This was the first time the World Cup was hosted across two countries.




The 2006 World Cup in Germany was widely praised as a tremendous success for the nation. According to the German government, tourism revenue increased by around $400m during the tournament, helping to boost the Germany economy. Also, a staggering 500,000 new jobs were created in the lead up to the tournament. The city of Cologne reported that their visitor numbers after the World Cup increased by between 7& and 10%. Another tangible benefit was that in preparation for the tournament, the German government invested the sum of €37b in infrastructure such as roads, transportation and facilities, so that the country could facilitate the surge in visitors. This is something that the German people still benefit from today. The German League also benefited by being awarded $70m, which was in turn put into grassroots development, so that young Germans could dream about playing in a World Cup one day themselves.




South Africa spend around $4bn on the 2010 World Cup, investing the money in six new state of the art stadiums and upgrading infrastructure such as roads and airports. FIFA generated a staggering $3.36bn from the event and awarded South Africa with $100m to fund grassroots projects around the country. Unfortunately, the South Africa World Cup has done nothing to improve the fortunes of the nations national team. Nicknamed Bafana Bafana, the team failed to qualify for Russia 2018, finishing bottom of their qualifying group with 4 points from 6 games. The national league still suffers from poor attendances, excluding the countries two major teams, Orlando Pirates and the Kaiser Chiefs. The estimated average cost of a tourist attending South Africa for the World Cup is estimated to be $13,000. The Cape Town stadium hosted five first round matches, and went on to host a second round, quarter final and semi final throughout the tournament. The stadium cost a reported $600m with the nations total spending for stadium construction and reburbishment topping $1.4bn. This left many South African’s wondering if they money could be better spent elsewhere in the country.




Widely criticised for leaving Brazil with several expensive but dormant stadiums, the 2014 World Cup is one that divides opinion. Brazil exited the tournament in a humiliating 7-1 defeat to Germany in the Semi Final, leaving the Selecao’s dream of winning the World Cup on home soil in tatters. Despite initial concerns, the 12 World Cup stadiums were ready on time for the opening ceremony to begin. However, now lies several near-abandoned stadiums which struggle to host any football at all. The most expensive stadium, adding up to a total cost of $550m, is located in Brasilia and is being used as a parking space for buses.



Source Credit: https://money-pod.co.uk/guides/world-cup-worth/

Can A Ketogenic Diet Reduce Inflammation?

The ketogenic diet has been well established in the medical community as a treatment approach for those with epilepsy. However, research is revealing benefits which may apply to a broader population as well. As chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s, type-2-diabetes, and heart disease are linked to inflammation, the anti-inflammatory effects of a keto diet are becoming especially compelling.


So, can a ketogenic diet reduce inflammation and lower your risk for chronic disease? In short, the research is looking very promising. But first, let’s take a closer look at inflammation, so we can better understand why it’s bad.

What is Inflammation?

Inflammation is not always bad. It is actually a mechanism that allows our body to respond to injury, and heal itself. We fall down, bloody our knee, and our immune system leaps into action, like a general on a battlefield. To protect the site of injury your body mounts a defensive response. White blood cells are rushed to the area to fight off foreign bacteria, break down damaged tissue, and then begin the repair process. During this time, the area is often warm, swollen, and red because your body increases blood flow to accelerate healing.


Given above is an example of acute inflammation. It’s a vital part of the human immune system guided by the best of intentions. But, what happens when your body is constantly triggering this response? In the most extreme cases, there are autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis which cause your body to attack and break down healthy tissue. However, there’s another form of chronic inflammation which is often more subtle, and undetected. This is referred to as chronic low-grade inflammation.




Chronic inflammation is problematic because it causes an immune reaction, even when there is no injury.  It is chronic because if it is not diagnosed and reduced, the inflammation will persist in your body.  Over time this can begin to damage arteries, organs, and contribute to diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease.

Symptoms & Causes of Chronic Inflammation

Causes of Chronic Inflammation

Chronic inflammation can be caused by several unrelated factors including:
• infections that don’t heal properly or timely
• abnormal immune reactions
• obesity

In addition, autoimmune diseases can trigger chronic inflammation. Some of these diseases are lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. It can also be caused by conditions that continually wear on your body, like inflammatory bowel disease.

Obesity and Inflammation

If you have excess fat, and particularly abdominal fat around your waist, there’s a good chance you also have some chronic low-level inflammation.


Fat cells in the abdomen release the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin 6, therefore inducing chronic inflammation. The more belly fat you have, the more cytokine interleukin 6 you produce, and the worse you feel.


Many people with obesity find themselves in a downward spiral of weight gain, inflammation, and then fatigue. As the inflammation and fatigue come on from gaining weight, a person is even less apt to lose weight and exercise to help themselves. However,


A lot of people have success losing body fat on a keto diet, thus also lowering their ability to produce the proinflammatory cytokine. Plus, as we will discuss below, a ketogenic diet is naturally anti-inflammatory, so you get a double whammy of help with obesity related inflammation on a keto diet.

Symptoms of Chronic Inflammation

There are several symptoms of chronic inflammation that you can notice in your body. If you notice these symptoms, you should set up an appointment with your doctor to determine if you have chronic inflammation.



In addition to obesity, Some other warning signs of chronic inflammation can include
• fatigue,
• indigestion,
• persistent aches and pains,
• acne, and
• allergies.

Like we mentioned above, chronic inflammation causes an immune reaction in your body, which is actually what all the above symptoms stem from. Each of these symptoms can be attributed to an immune response in the cells responsible for that part or action of the body.



For example, allergies are an immune response to external stimuli such as pollen or dust; if the allergies worsen or do not get better, they could very well be attributed to an over-reactive immune response. This is just one symptom of chronic inflammation.



Fatigue is also a symptom of chronic inflammation.

Testing for Chronic Inflammation

Clearly, if you have some of the symptoms of chronic inflammation, it’s something you want to address immediately, possibly with a keto diet. But, how do you know if its occurring in your body? You may want to know if there’s a real way to detect chronic inflammation, outside of just some symptoms that could be caused by something else.



Since ichronic inflammationt often occurs at low levels, it’s not as obvious to detect as the swelling which occurs when you twist an ankle.


But, there are a variety of blood tests your physician can run to help detect chronic inflammation, the most common of which is a test for C-Reactive protein (CRP).


Some CRP can always be detected in the blood, but levels spike when there’s any inflammation, chronic or acute. If you’re testing for chronic inflammation, you’ll want to take this test when you don’t have any known injuries which could be triggering an acute inflammatory response. Ideally, your CRP level should be below 1, with 0 indicating no inflammation. If your CRP is elevated, absent of any injuries, it could indicate you have some chronic low-level inflammation occurring.
However, as helpful as a CRP test can be, there are some other clues which can suggest chronic inflammation absent of getting a blood test.

Other Disease Associated with Inflammation

Inflammation in itself can lead to and/or worsen diseases and health problems.  A review titled “The inflammation theory of disease”[i]  describes how chronic inflammation can lead to cancerous tumors and degenerative diseases like ALS.  Reasons for this are that as tissue is consistently inflamed it leads to “tissue destruction and scarring”, which creates an environment for tumor growth.


In addition, it is now even being associated with leading to depression.[ii]

How the Ketogenic Diet Helps Reduce Inflammation

The keto diet has been long believed to have anti-inflammatory effects, and thanks to a recent study from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF)[iii], we have a better understanding of one of the reasons.


In this study, performed on rats, researchers wanted to know why the ketogenic diet was related to reduced inflammation in the brain. The researchers induced a ketogenic state in the rats which in turn restricted the rate of glucose metabolism.  During glucose metabolism, NAD+ is converted to NADH, and increases the ratio of NADH/NAD+.  In a ketogenic state this ratio is lowered which activates a regulatory protein called CtBP that blocks the expression of inflammatory genes, thus reducing inflammation.


The UCSF study is especially significant because it demonstrates a biochemical mechanism through which the ketogenic diet can directly reduce inflammation. Evidence from other studies suggest an anti-inflammatory effect to the ketogenic diet which reaches beyond the brain.
Another reason the ketogenic diet reduces inflammation is because ketone metabolism produces fewer free radicals and reactive oxygen species[iv], often responsible for triggering inflammation. Ketone metabolism also causes an increase in the production of adenosine, a nucleoside long known to be anti-inflammatory[v].


Finally, the ketogenic diet’s anti-inflammatory effect can also be linked to a specific ketone that’s produced in the liver from acetoacetate during ketosis. The ketone beta-hydroxybutyrate can block an immune system receptor linked to inflammation, the NLRP inflammasome[vi]. If we’re constantly exposed to inflammatory triggers, such as inflammatory foods, or obesity, the NLRP inflammasome can be overly activated, quintessentially being stuck in the on position. With a ketogenic diet, there is an increase in the amount of beta-hydroxybutyrate, which could then help reduce inflammation by blocking the NLRP inflammasome.

The Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Keto Foods

As you can see, there are several metabolic mechanisms that can help explain the anti-inflammatory effects of a ketogenic diet. However, the keto diet may also be anti-inflammatory due to the foods it eliminates, and includes (if you’re doing it right).


The first thing that gets eliminated on a keto diet are carbohydrates with a high glycemic index.


You simply cannot reach a state of ketosis with these types of foods, so they are the first to go.


Carbohydrates with a high glycemic index have been associated with a higher level of CRP[vii], which may explain some of the anti-inflammatory effects of the ketogenic diet. In addition, the high fiber carbohydrates (aka vegetables) that are moderately included in a ketogenic diet are also believed to be anti-inflammatory.[viii]  These include leafy greens like spinach, and the super popular and versatile cauliflower.  See a list of recommended low-carb vegetables for the keto diet.
Another defining characteristic of the ketogenic diet is its emphasis on consuming healthy fats.


Since 65-90% of your calorie intake is going to come from fat, you need to prioritize healthy fats and oils. If you’re doing that you’ll be focusing on reducing the amount of pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids, and increasing the amount of anti-inflammatory omega-3’s. Coconut oil, another hallmark of the ketogenic diet, has also been shown to reduce oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in humans[ix].

Ketogenic Diet Foods to Eat And Avoid

Here’s a list of anti-inflammatory foods and spices that you can incorporate into a ketogenic diet:

• Organic meats (good omega-3/6 profile)
• Organic dairy (good omega-3/6 profile)
• Green leafy vegetables like spinach and bok choy
• Cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli
• Spices like turmeric and garlic
• Coconut oil
• Avocados and avocado oil
• Olives
• Vary sparingly eat some low-carb berries like blackberries

Here’s a list of inflammatory foods to avoid on keto:

• Nightshade vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant are known to be inflammatory in some people
• Inorganic dairy
• Inorganic meats
• Burning or overcooking meats can cause them to be inflammatory

Other Ways to Reduce Chronic Inflammation

The ketogenic diet can have some significant benefits to help reduce inflammation. However, it’s not the only approach you can take to help reduce chronic inflammation. If you’re serious about lowering your inflammation (and you should be), here are some other known methods to reduce chronic inflammation.

• Get more exercise
• Consume more omega-3 fatty acids, while reducing omega-6
• Eat foods high in antioxidants & polyphenols
• Reduce nightshade vegetables (tomatoes and peppers)
• Reduce your stress level
• Improve your sleep

please click the below source link to learn more about other health issues.

  Source: https://www.ketodomain.com/nutrition/ketogenic-diet-reduce-inflammation/

20ways to be indispensable at work

SCB urges investors to weigh equities, bond options in 2018

Standard chartered bank Nigeria

As the global economy is gradually rebounding, with the direction pointing towards reflation for some major economies, Standard Chartered Bank has advised investors to manage downside risks, with preference for equities and corporate bonds.


Emerging Market bonds, preferably the Asian dollar-denominated bonds, are expected to outperform those of the U.S. and Europe on the back of a modestly weaker dollar and relatively attractive yields.


The bank in its Wealth Management Advisory Outlook 2018, predicted a continued gradual expansion of output, combining a modest stronger economic growth with rising inflation.


According to the Chief Investment Strategist at Standard Chartered Bank, Steve Brice, “growth accelerated in 2017, but inflation did not. We believe a gradual ‘heating up’ of the global economy is likely in 2018, with robust economic growth and inflation finally increasing.

 
“Our Outlook 2018 report is designed to help our clients navigate these market conditions. Economic growth continues to simmer. The ‘Goldilocks’ environment- not too hot, not too cold, of strong growth and limited inflation is likely to extend into the early part of 2018.


“Continued earnings’ growth means equities and corporate bonds have room to extend gains going into 2018. Inflation is the main risk to this ‘Goldilocks’ scenario, especially further into 2018.


“A larger-than-expected rise in inflation would mean the environment could turn too hot, forcing central banks to tighten policy more aggressively than markets currently expect,” he said.